Yara Shahidi Just Reinvented The Classic Cat Eye

There are some fashion and beauty basics that should never be messed with. The little black dress will always be a staple, a red lip isn’t going anywhere, and until recently, it seemed like the cat eye was pretty tried-and-true as well, that is, until Yara Shahidi flipped it on its head. On Tuesday, Shahidi dressed up to attend the unveiling of Cartier’s latest high jewelry collection at Liria Palace in Madrid, so of course couture was in order. But it was her makeup that really made a statement, a bold take on the classic cat eye that will leave you rethinking everything you know about beauty.

For the occasion, Shahidi and her stylist, Jason Bolden plucked a dress from Valentino’s spring 2022 couture collection, a royal blue beaded gown with a cowl neckline. Of course, the jewelry was courtesy of Cartier, a geometric necklace that Shahidi’s makeup artist, Nikki Wolff, revealed inspired the eye look for the evening. It’s pretty much a basic cat eye, but with a chunk taken out right at the center of each lid, creating a negative space effect that allows Shahidi’s lashes to shine through, and updates the classic makeup staple.

The innovative eye comes just a day after Wolff put Shahidi in another show-stopping makeup look, this one with an update on blush, creating a sunset-like motif on the actress’ face that plays beautifully off her yellow custom Greta Constantine dress.

Clearly, Shahidi is doing big things, and that’s not even mentioning the fact that the actress graduated from Harvard last month. Instead of going for a bold makeup look for that moment, the actress seemingly went barefaced, allowing instead for her custom Dior suit (and her Harvard degree) to do all the talking.